Life and Love
by SR89
Summary: Part 3 Greg House's daughter Amy is growing up and falling in love...Plus there's the twins he has with Allison.
1. Chapter 1

Part Three of my little 'series' - Part 1 (Family) and Part 2 (Branching Out) can be found on my profile. Hope you like it; even if you don't please review!!

* * *

"You don't work here." Chase remarked, surprised. Sitting at the table in the conference room was Amy House, wearing a lab-coat. She had a mug of coffee in one hand and three case files fanned out on the table in front of her. She looked up at him and smiled.

"As of this morning, yes I do."

"Amy? Hi!" Eric entered the conference room, jacket slung casually over his arm. Upon seeing Eric enter the room Amy stood. He set his jacket over the back of one of the spare chairs and hugged her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to tell Chase; I work here. There was a spot for a research assistant, covering while someone's on maternity leave. Lisa Cuddy called me last week."

"Cool." Chase said, browsing through the files that were piled on the table. "These yours?"

"No, they're your next case. Three 9 year olds; cousins, all suffering fever, back-pain, nausea and vomiting, sore throats and headaches."

"Pretty standard for nine-year-olds. Why are they ours?" Foreman asked, taking one of the files from Chase. Amy shrugged, but before she could say anymore they were interupted by Amy's pager.

"I have to go sign some insurance papers before I can start work so I will see you guys later. Tell my parents I'll come up and see them if I get a chance. See ya!" And with that she downed the last of her coffee, handed her mug to Foreman; who was nearest, and headed out of the conference room, almost colliding with Wilson. After a few words and a brief hug she was off again, heading in the direction of the elevators. Wilson entered the conference room.

"House and Cameron not in yet?"

"The twins have a thing." Chase answered Wilson's question whilst examining the chart of one of the 9 year olds; a girl named Carly.

"Right." Wilson affirmed. "I'll find House later then." He left Chase and Foreman contemplating the case files.

* * *

"Good day so far?" Greg asked Amy as he cut up his son's meal. Amy nodded, her mouth full.

"Yeah, not too bad. I'm glad Lisa offered me the position; it's the best summer job I could have asked for."

"Have you thought anymore about med schools?" Allison asked, passing a plate of cut-up food to Lucy, who was sat swinging her legs contentedly.

"Hopkins?" Amy replied with a question. "I was talking about it with..." But Greg and Allison didn't find out who she had been discussing med schools with, because right at that second a cell phone went off. Lucy and Ben, who at two years old were in the middle of a phase where they found it absolutely hilarious to state the obvious over and over again, started bouncing in their seats saying "Phone's ringing, phone's ringing!" Amy tried to suppress a smile, and ducked underneath the table to find her purse. Glancing at the caller ID a steady blush crept over her face.

"Excuse me." She mumbled, leaving Greg and Allison trying to quieten down their noisy twins enough so that they could eavesdrop. As it was, over the incessant repetition from Ben and Lucy – who served to fuel each other on – all they could hear was; "Hi…no…I…chance…will…yeah…you…bye." Allison glanced at her husband knowingly and he rolled his eyes at her.

Amy slipped back into her seat, tucking her hair behind her ear in a small gesture of embarrassment. Using her other hand she waved the cell phone at her siblings.

"Phone isn't ringing anymore, guys. Phone is going back into Amy's purse." Illustrating her point she deposited her cell into her purse, trying again to suppress the overwhelming desire to laugh when Ben mumbled "Bye Phone," closely mimicked by Lucy, who finished off the skit with a wave at her big sister's purse.

* * *

"So…" Allison began, sluicing the sponge over her youngest daughter's back. Amy, who was helping her bathe the twins while Greg cooked dinner, blushed. Blushing was something that she had been doing a lot of over the past two days, usually whenever her cell phone rang, which was a lot. Each time she received a call her face turned pink, she went into another room and refused to say who the caller was when she returned.

"His name's Tom." She said simply, passing a rubber frog to her brother. Ben took the frog happily and splashed it into the bathwater. Lucy tried to snatch it from him, and was placated with an identical one from Allison.

"No last name? No age?" she pried with a smile.

"Tom Nesbitt. He's seventeen days older than me. Pre-med. Father's a lawyer, mother's a pre-school teacher. Two brothers and five sisters, he's the youngest. He wants to specialise in Oncology. He used to have a dog called Buster and his favourite colour is blue. Anything else you'd like to know?" Allison laughed, fishing Lucy out of the bathtub and wrapping her in an oversized towel. Amy followed suit with Ben.

"Big family," Allison commented, wondering how to word her next question. She needn't have worried, as Amy pre-empted her thoughts;

"…which we are not planning on adding to just yet." She said, rubbing Ben's arms. She picked up his pajama top and slipped it over his head.

"S'backwards." Ben said, outraged, pointing to his front, and the absence of the monster truck cartoon. He had been given the pajama set from Foreman and his wife for his third birthday and in the month since had had to be coaxed out of it every morning.

"I do apologise Sir Benjamin, please forgive me." Amy joked as she swiveled the top around. As she spoke the English accent which nowadays was almost unnoticeable, coming through clearly. After 8 years living in the States she had developed an American accent as natural as if she had lived there her entire life so for Ben and Lucy, hearing Amy talking in her 'real' accent was hilarious and they fell into giggles. Amy helped Ben into his pajama pants and picked him up, deftly dropping the damp towel into the laundry basket one handed. Allison hoisted Lucy onto her hip and bent to pull the plug out of the bathtub. Lucy, now wearing a buttercup yellow sleep set; nightshirt over pajama pants rested her head sleepily against her mother's shoulder.

"I can do the story if you want?" Amy said, leading the way to the twin's bedroom. Allison nodded her thanks, and after settling Lucy down onto her bed and kissing both the twins on the forehead she left their bedroom. Walking down the stairs she heard Amy's voice, soft and soothing, telling the twins the story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'.

* * *

"He's called Tom. Her age, a few weeks older. Big family – youngest of eight children. Going into Oncology." Allison poured wine into three glasses, and fed these pieces of information to her husband as she placed the glasses on the dining table.

"And…?" Greg pressed, dishing up the food.

"And nothing. She'll tell us when she's ready."

"Exactly." Amy's voice came through the kitchen. She walked to the dining table and took a sip from her glass of wine. Greg and Allison, slightly stunned at being caught discussing their daughter, said nothing. "But seeing as you're so interested, I suppose I'm ready now." She took a seat at the table, bringing one foot up to rest on the edge of her chair. "What do you want to know?"

* * *

Et voila!!! 


	2. Chapter 2

"Stop fussing. You look fine." Amy scolded, as Tom held up a new t-shirt.

"Fine? You really think your father will accept 'fine?' Blue or green?" he said, holding the green t-shirt slightly to the side of his body so that she could see the blue one he was wearing. Amy, who was half-lying on his bed reading a magazine, smirked.

"No shirt." She said, leaning her head slightly to look at him. Tom groaned.

"I'm nervous enough as it is, without you doing that." He turned and looked in the mirror again. "Which one?" he persisted.

"Blue brings out your eyes." Amy swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked towards him. "Green makes you look hot." She slid her arms around him, grazing her fingernails along the thin strip of skin that was visible. "But I still vote for no shirt." Tom turned and kissed her, throwing the green t-shirt onto the back of his desk chair.

"We're gonna be late." Amy murmured against him,

"You started it." He replied.

* * *

"They're late." Greg muttered, stabbing birthday candles into Lucy's ballerina birthday cake.

"Gentle." Allison said, laying a hand on her husband's, more to stop him butchering the cake than anything else. She used her other hand to slide candles into Ben's cake, shaped like a monster truck. She hadn't wanted him to like monster trucks, but given who his father was it seemed inevitable. She comforted herself with the fact that Lucy couldn't be more girly.

"They're late." Greg repeated, pushing the final candle into the creepy-looking cake in front of him. Lucy was currently going through the ballet phase and every Tuesday afternoon Allison had to scrape back Lucy's wispy brown hair into a bun and take the giddy little girl off to point her toes and spin in circles. He in turn had taken it upon himself to teach Ben to play piano. At four years old his son wasn't exactly Beethoven, but he could play a few simple tunes. Lucy would stand beside the piano as he practised, pointing her toes in time to the music.

"They probably got stuck in traffic." Allison soothed, taking the two birthday cakes and putting them in the refridgerator for later.

"Traffic. Right." Greg turned his attention to what seemed like a hundred party bags, for Lucy and Ben's kindergarten friends. Blue with monster trucks for Ben's friends, and pink with hearts for Lucy's. The grown-ups had booze in the fridge for later, when the kids had all gone home.

A car pulled into the driveway and Greg tried not to look as if he was snooping as he walked to the window.

"She drove." He remarked.

"His car's in the shop." Allison answered before calling. "Lucy, Ben! Amy and Tom are here!" Thunderous footsteps could be heard over head as the twins rushed down the stairs, fighting to be the first to reach the door. Greg beat them to it, opening the front door just as Amy reached up to put her key in the lock. Ben and Lucy rushed towards Amy and Tom, pulling them into the house.

"Amy watch look what I learned, look look!" Lucy said, jumping up and down with her toes pointed and her arms above her head.

"Tom, come see. I learned chopsticks on the piano. Come watch!" Ben said, trying to elbow his sister out of the way.

"Very clever, both of you." Amy laughed, bending down and hugging her younger siblings. She stood and hugged Greg, then stepped back to where Tom was watching patiently. Tom reached out and shook Greg's hand, and then allowed Ben to drag him through to the living room. Lucy bounced behind them, desperate to show Tom her ballet moves.

Amy smiled at her father;

"Help me bring in the p-r-e-s-e-n-t-s?" she asked, spelling the word rather than saying it so as not to attract the attention of the birthday children. No such luck though, as the piano playing stopped with a clang and the twins ran at high speed back into the hallway, hopping with excitement.

* * *

"Hi Mom." Amy said, seeing Allison arranging party food onto plates. Allison smiled at the rabble of people crowding into the kitchen. Greg stood in the doorway, watching as Amy hugged Allison, whispering something into her ear which made them both laugh. The twins clambered up onto the dining table, both still chattering incessantly to Tom who guarded them carefully, making sure they didn't fall.

Allison looked across the kitchen at Amy and grinned. "Good journey?" she asked. Amy shrugged.

"You were late." Greg scolded her, moving around the kitchen to help Allison with the party food.

"Car trouble," Amy replied smoothly and it was then that he noticed the tell-tale red mark peeking out from underneath the strap of her tanktop

* * *

"Unclench." Allison said, bringing two plates of burger and hot dog buns over to the grill. Greg, standing in front of the barbecue turning the food, scowled at the sight of Amy and Tom, playing tag with forty four year olds in fancy dress. Playing with them were Wilson, Cuddy, Chase and Foreman, as well as Chase's fiancee Carrie. Foreman's wife Libby sat beside the food table, their baby daughter Isobel wrapped snugly against her. Their two year old son Levi was trying to join in the fun with the four year olds, and Amy suddenly swooped him up, preventing him from being trampled by one of Ben's more boisterous friends.

"Have you _seen_ the hickey?" he almost snarled, immediately changing his tone when Lucy, dressed as a fairy in hot pink and half a pot of silver glitter, rushed up to ask when they were going to eat.

"5 minutes."

"How long's that?" Lucy asked. Like any other four year old, she loved to ask questions.

"It's when I call you. Go and play with your friends." Greg replied, pressing her dainty nose with his index finger. Lucy rolled her tongue at him and scampered off to play.

"I have seen the hickey." Allison answered as if their daughter hadn't even interrupted. "But you know what? You're looking at her as if she's Lucy's age, playing at being a grown-up. She's 21. She'll be a college Senior in a few months. Old enough to drink and live on her own and shock horror; she's old enough to have sex." Greg pressed one of the hotdogs against the grill, relishing in the satisfying sizzle it made.

"Doesn't mean she has to flaunt it." He grumbled. Allison laughed, sensing that she wasn't going to make him change his mind about their daughter's choice of boyfriend. No guy would be good enough for her as far as he was concerned.

"Two years, Greg. They've been together for _two _years. She's not just gonna give him up. She loves him." She kissed him on the cheek, taking the plates of hotdogs and burgers over to the long, decorated party table. "Food's ready!" The kids all ran screaming to the table, clambering over the seats.

* * *

It wasn't as if he hated the kid. He didn't. In fact, if Tom hadn't been dating Amy, there was a good chance that he would have gotten along well with him. He was the kind of guy Greg would have considered hiring, if Chase and Foreman had ever moved on after their fellowships finished. As it was he still had his team of three but if one of them ever left, Tom was the kind of guy who could easily fill their shoes. But it all came down to one fundamental fact; Tom was dating Amy, and they were in love. And it killed him.

* * *

"Whose idea was it to invite their entire kindergarten class?" Greg groaned, trying to get comfortable on the sofa but struggling due to the fact that the kids had used him as a bouncy-castle.

"I think you'll find it was yours." Allison smirked, handing him a beer and sitting down next to him. She of course, had barely broken into a sweat, taking the extra forty children casually into her stride.

"Well in that case, never take me seriously ever again." He replied, closing his eyes.

"You'll live to regret saying that." Amy half-giggled, half-yawned. "We should get going, it's late." She made no move to get off the arm-chair however, where she and Tom were seated in a strange but comfortable position, Amy on his knees. Allison looked at the clock.

"It's after nine; you won't get back to the dorm until after midnight. Why not stay over and drive back in the morning?" she suggested, and felt Greg tense next to her. "Ben and Lucy would love it." All afternoon the twins had been extolling the virtues of their big sister to anyone who would listen. Amy looked at Tom, who felt his eyelids getting heavier by the second. He shrugged imperceptibly, but Amy knew exactly what he was saying.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at Allison but directing the question to her dad.

"Yeah, why not." Greg replied, too tired to argue.


	3. Chapter 3

"How did everyone sleep?" Allison asked, pouring milk on Ben's cereal, and then Lucy's. Tom, sitting next to Amy opposite the two four-year olds felt a swift kick on his ankle.

"Fine." Amy answered sweetly. "Lucy doesn't kick so much as she used to." Lucy looked outraged. Tom had taken Amy's room last night, while Amy had shared Lucy's bed, in what used to be the spare bedroom. Three months before Ben and Lucy had decided that they were too grown-up to share a bedroom, so the spare bedroom had been painted pink and adorned with frills and fluff. The old nursery, now Ben's room, had in turn been painted blue, and Greg had decorated one wall with a giant mural of monster trucks.

"I _never_ kick." She said through a mouthful of cereal.

"Yeah you do. You kick all the time. Kicker! Kicker! Lucy's a kicker!" Ben sing-songed. Amy shot a sideways glance at Tom, who was casually reading the newspaper. He rested a hand gently on hers under the cover of the table.

"Lucy, don't talk with your mouthful, and Ben, don't tease your sister." Allison said, sitting at her seat with a mug of coffee and a plate of buttered toast.

"Did Dad have to leave early?" Amy asked. She had been slightly hurt when she had entered the kitchen to find Allison alone, clearing up the remnants of the twins' birthday party.

"We have a patient." Allison said sympathetically.

"You aren't there." Amy shrugged. Even at 21 years of age she could still sulk like she was Lucy's age. Ben pushed his empty cereal bowl across the table, and looked expectantly at his mother.

"Can I go now?" he asked.

"You may be excused." Allison corrected, and Ben slid off his chair and wandering out of the kitchen, still dressed in his red and blue checked PJs. "Lucy? Are you done?" Allison asked, and Lucy spooned the last few mouthfuls of cereal into her mouth. She chewed it hurriedly, swallowing before she was done.

"May I be excused?" she asked with a cheeky grin, already slipping out of her seat to follow her twin brother. In pink PJs with fluffy trim, and her shoulder-length hair hanging loose around her shoulders she looked like a fairy.

"You may." Allison replied, taking a sip of her coffee before gathering up their empty dishes. From the living room, the not-so-gentle sounds of two four year olds watching cartoons resonated.

"I'll help." Amy said, getting out of her chair. Allison stood, resting one hand on the back of a chair, and balancing two bowls in the other.

"Tom, if you want to grab a shower before the twins wreak havoc on the bathroom, go ahead. Towels are in the cabinet next to the sink."

"Thanks Allison." Tom said, turning to Amy as soon as Allison's back was turned to kiss her on the cheek. "Good morning." He murmured against her skin.

"Good morning." She replied, taking his breakfast plate from in front of him and helping Allison to load the dishwasher.

* * *

"So you slept well?" Allison asked subtly. Amy felt a blush spread over her cheeks and tried not to remember last night. As soon as she was certain Lucy had fallen asleep she had crept along the hallway to her own room, where Tom was sleeping. Or not sleeping, as it had turned out. 

"Amy..." Allison said, slightly warily, and Amy blinked rapidy, trying to get certain thoughts out of her mind.

"Yeah?" she answered absently, sipping her coffee.

"You're careful, right? I know you're not a child anymore but you are being careful, aren't you?" Amy didn't know whether to laugh, blush or what.

"You...heard us?" she asked timidly, scarlet with embarrassment and Allison laughed.

"I didn't hear "you", at least not in the way you think. The thing about having twins is that you learn to pick up noises no-one else bothers with. Like, for example, how the floorboards outside Lucy's room creak, or that the carpet is thinner outside of your bedroom door, so you can hear whenever someone goes in or out." Allison took a sip of coffee and looked at Amy over the rim of the mug. "I'm not telling you not to have sex. And I'm not saying you're wrong to want to. But promise me you're being careful."

"I promise." Amy said.

* * *

"Are you going to have babies with Amy?" Lucy asked, as Tom pushed her higher on the swing. Tom laughed. 

"One day, I hope."

"Girls or boys?" Lucy persisted. Tom looked over towards where Amy was buying ice-creams, with Ben closely at her side. Allison had gone into the hospital to check on their patient, leaving the twins with Amy and Tom for the afternoon.

"How do you mean?" he asked, swinging her further. She kicked her feet and went higher.

"Do you want boys or girls? I think girls are better." Lucy stated in typical four year old fashion.

"Both." Tom replied, holding onto the chains of the swing to stop the little girl swinging too high and falling off. "You don't like boys?"

"Boys smell."

"Ben doesn't smell.

"Ben's not a boy. He's my brother!" Lucy giggled. Tom laughed with her, her innocence and simplicity was cute.

"I'm a boy. Stupid." Ben said, coming close to the swing with an ice-cream in his hand. Amy was behind him, holding Lucy's ice-cream in one hand, and her and Tom's in the other.

"Don't insult your sister." Tom said as he slowed down Lucy's swing. She rolled her tongue cheekily at him, and took her ice-cream from Amy.

"Thank you." She giggled.


	4. Chapter 4

Cameron's cell-phone vibrated inside her purse. She frowned guiltily at the interruption, but House ignored the noise and continued grilling Foreman about their latest patient. Chase was on honeymoom in Sydney, having gotten married two weeks earlier.

She glanced at the text message she had just recieved. A wide grin broke out across her face and she moved across the conference room to use the office phone. Quickly she dialled, and upon hearing the answer, pressed the speakerphone button. House and Foreman looked at her, bewildered, then smiled when they heard Amy's voice saying "Hello? Am I on speaker?" Three voices impatiently replied, 'yes!' and they could hear Amy laughing.

"We both got into Hopkins!" she said excitedly, and moments later was overwhelmed by the sound of her parents and Foreman all congratulating them at once.

* * *

"Guys this is so cute!" Amy gushed, angling the card that Ben and Lucy had made so that Tom could view it over her shoulder.

"We couldn't spell 'congratulations' so we wrote 'Well Done' instead." Ben supplied, and Lucy pressed her foot on his.

"Tattletale."

"Lucy, go and sit in time out." Greg said sternly, and Lucy flounced sulkily out into the hallway. They could all hear her pounding her feet on the floor as she sat on the time-out step.

"Ben, why don't you tell Amy what your teacher said?" Allison said, diverting attention from Lucy. Ben beamed and climbed up to sit on the sofa beside Amy.

"If I get good enough I get to do a solo for the class play next year."

"Good job, buddy." Tom said, and Ben – if it was possible – beamed even more. He adored Tom almost as much as he adored his dad.

"Am I done yet?" Lucy yelled from the hallway. Greg checked his watch and called back;

"You can come back in." The five year old flounced in sulkily, and faced her parents, who were sat on the sofa together.

"What do you say to Ben?" Allison asked, and Lucy turned around to face her twin brother

"Sorry Ben." She said grumpily. Ben shrugged. "Can we go to out now?" To celebrate Amy and Tom's acceptance to Hopkins, Greg and Allison were treating them to a meal at Amy's favourite restaurant. Ben and Lucy loved the place because it had it's own soft-play centre in a building off the actual restaurant.

"If you put your shoes on, and run a brush through your hair. We can leave in about 10 minutes." Ben and Lucy raced through to the hallway to grab their shoes. Both had just learned to tie their shoelaces, and the four adults could hear them repeating the little rhyme that helped them remember where each lace went.

* * *

"I'll give you a hand." Tom offered, following Greg to the bar to get drinks. Allison and Amy were left with the twins, who were squabbling over the kiddy-pack that the waitress had given them. Lucy wanted Ben's crayons, because one of hers was broken, and Ben – finally learning to stand up for himself against his more confident sister – was trying to refuse.

"Lucy, use the crayons that aren't broken, and then when Ben's finished with the colour you want, you can ask him nicely if he'll let you borrow it." Allison scolded, sighing exasperatedly and rolling her eyes over the heads of her children. Amy suppressed a giggle.

Over at the bar, Greg and Tom were deep in conversation, not noticing that their drinks order had been placed in front of them. 

"And if I say no?" Greg asked, and Tom grinned.

"You wont." Greg tried not to smirk. Tom and Amy had been together for almost the whole four years they had been at Harvard. Tom was one of the family as much as either of the twins.

"Have you spoken to Amy about it?" Greg realised their drinks were on the bar in front of them, and took a sip of his beer. Tom took a sip of his own beer and drummed the fingers of his free hand on the bar.

"Not exactly. I love her Greg. Ever since the first time I saw her on campus I knew I wanted to be with her." Tom avoided the older man's gaze, and took another hurried sip of beer. Greg cleared his throat, taking the tray of drinks in his hands. As he turned around, he said,

"You have my 'blessing'."

* * *

The phone rang shrilly, shattering the silence of the room. Allison groaned, and shifted underneath the covers. Beside her, Greg eased himself into a leaning position, reaching out one hand to flick on the bedside lamp. Light filtered the room, and his hand swiped around, trying to reach the phone that lived on his bedside cabinet. He pressed the 'answer' button and held the phone to his ear, yawning as he did so. The familiar voice resonated through the otherwise silent room, and beside him he felt Allison move onto her side.

"Daddy?" the excited voice asked again, when it recieved no answer.

"Are you ok?" Greg asked, by way of a greeting. Allison glanced at the clock on her bedside cabinet; 2.30am. She felt her heart pound as she signalled to Greg, asking what's wrong.

"I'm fine!" Amy's voice was dancing down the line.

"It's the middle of the night Amy, what's going on?" Greg asked, as Allison grabbed the phone and held it between them.

"Is everything ok?" she asked, and recieved a giggle in response.

"Amy..." Greg warned.

"I didn't realise the time. I'm just so happy; I wanted to call you right away." Amy babbled, and Allison and Greg looked at each other. Another giggle came down the phone line. "I have news. Tom asked me to marry him tonight. And I said yes!" More giggles came down the line, accompanied by the laugh Allison and Greg had come to recognise as Tom's. Allison broke into a huge smile, her hand at her mouth. She glanced at Greg, who was also smiling.

"Congratulations!" they exclaimed."Can I be bridesmaid in a pink dress?" Lucy asked for the thirtieth time that weekend. As soon as she had heard the word 'wedding' she had been brimming over with excitement. Tom and Amy's graduation from Harvard hadn't even stopped her whispering suggestions about ponies and sparkle.

"I don't know if I'm having bridesmaids, sweetheart." Amy answered apologetically, earning a slightly confused look from her fiancée.

"You don't?" he questioned and Amy shrugged.

"You have eight nieces; I think nine bridesmaids might be a little excessive. Don't you?" She looked at Lucy again. "I promise you can wear a pink dress though."

"But I wanna be a bridesmaid!" Lucy whined. Ben rolled his eyes next to her, and tapped out a rhythm on the tabletop.

"Have you set a date?" Greg asked, setting platters of food down on the table. Allison added more dishes, and then they both took their seats as Tom answered,

"We were thinking about sometime this summer actually."

"Are you pregnant?" The four adults were stunned, and Lucy giggled at her twin brother's question.

"No Ben. I'm not pregnant." Amy replied firmly, with a confused look at Allison.

"We just want to get married before we go to Hopkins, ok Ben?" Tom elaborated for the little boy.

"When you have a baby, would it be my brother?" Lucy asked, through a mouthful of the chicken Allison had dished onto her plate. Ben scoffed.

"No, stupid. He'd be your cousin."

"Benjamin, don't insult your sister." Allison scolded, at the same time as Greg said;

"Actually, if and when Amy and Tom have a baby," here he shot a small glance at the newly engaged couple, both of whom looked as if they couldn't decide whether to laugh or be embarrassed. "If and when, the baby would be your niece or nephew."

"Which is which?" Lucy asked.

"A baby girl would be your niece, and a baby boy would be your nephew." Tom answered, reaching underneath the table and taking a hold of Amy's free hand. He ran his thumb gently over the band of her engagement ring – it was a simple gold band with three sapphires set in it.

The twins seemed satisfied with Tom's answer, and ate their food quietly while having a foot war under cover of the table. The four adults were busy discussing Greg and Allison's latest patient when Ben interrupted, asking;

"Where will the baby come from?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Only Amy could choose a guy with parents older than I am." Greg remarked. Allison, beside him, tried not to laugh. Greg was right; Tom's parents Peter and Maggie were easily in their sixties, and made Greg (a mere fifty three years old) look like a spring chicken. Of course, the fact that Greg was the father of five year old twins – and still able to run around after them – worked in his favour, whereas Peter and Maggie were grandparents to twelve grandchildren.

"Shh." Allison scolded, while frowning in the direction of the corner where all the children had congregated. Ben and Lucy were showing the other children; their cousins and Tom's nieces and nephews, how to use breadsticks to give themselves 'walrus tusks'.

"You guys having fun?" Amy asked, suddenly appearing at next to them, a glass of water in her hand. "You're ok for drinks and everything?"

"We're fine." Allison said, her eyes still on her mischievous twins.

"Do you think we went the right way? Not having a sit down dinner I mean." Amy had been second-guessing herself ever since she and Tom had started planning the wedding; were the flowers right, would there be enough space for all their guests. A sit-down rehearsal dinner, or just a party. There had only been 10 weeks to plan everything, thanks to a cancellation at the venue, so Amy and Allison had worked almost non-stop with a wedding planner (much to Amy's dismay) to organise what they hoped would be a perfect day.

"It's fine." Greg said, noting how Amy relaxed as soon as he spoke.

"I'll be right back." Allison said, distractedly, heading over to the group of children, who thanks to her nephew Jake were all taking it in turns to inhale helium from the sparkly balloons.

"So you're really having a good time?" Amy asked again and Greg hugged her.

"I'm having the best time." He whispered through her hair.

"Thanks Daddy." She answered, but didn't break away.

"Your mother would be proud of you." He said. Amy pulled away slightly, and looked at him with her eyes shining. She glanced over at Allison, who was trying not to laugh at the kids.

"She is proud of me."

* * *

"Were you this nervous? I don't remember you being this nervous." Amy twisted a tissue in her hands, trying to stop them shaking. Allison, who was fixing Amy's veil smiled to herself.

"You told me to pull myself together." She replied, sliding one of the final clips into place. Amy was sat in front of the dressing table, trying not to look at her reflection.

"I did." Amy recalled. "I officially apologise...what if he changed his mind?" Allison stifled a laugh, and laid her hands reassuringly on the twenty-two year old's bare shoulders. Amy had chosen an elegant strapless gown, with a bodice that cinched in at the waist, and a skirt flowed effortlessly to the floor. Hanging around her neck was her 'something blue' – a gift from Tom's mother Maggie. She had, as she told Amy at the rehearsal dinner, kept her jewellery for each of her children to wear at their weddings. Or in the case of Tom and his two brothers; to give to their future wife. Five sapphires were set into the pendant of the necklace and it hung on a simple gold chain. It matched the sapphires on Amy's engagement ring, something that wasn't really a coincidence Amy realised when she remembered going to buy it. All of the rings that Tom liked were gold, with sapphires.

"It's a lovely necklace." Allison said, and Amy realised she was touching the spot on her neck where the pendant hung lightly.

"It is, isn't it?" A knock on the door interrupted the two women, and Amy stood from the dressing table stool where she had been seated. Allison unconsciously smoothed invisible wrinkles from the dress, as Amy called, "Come in." A festival of pink whirled into the room, in the form of five-year-old Lucy. Barrelling behind her were her cousin Lucy, and Tom's youngest nieces April and Christie. The four little girls had been inseparable since they had met at the rehearsal dinner, and looked like a rainbow as they scrambled onto the hotel room's double bed, struggling in their party dresses. Amy and Allison laughed as they threw themselves around on top of the once-impeccable covers.

Another knock at the door drew their attention. Standing awkwardly in a tux, clean shaven and with a look of misty pride on his face was Greg. He cleared his throat;

"Everyone's getting ready." And to the three little girls who weren't his daughter he said, "Your parents all want you downstairs. The photographer's taking pictures of all the family." Lucy tried to follow them, as if her hot pink 'fairy' dress made her invisible, and he swept her up one-handed. Despite the fact that she had just turned five, she weighed virtually nothing; sharing the same lithe frame as her mother.

"You look…" Greg didn't finish his sentence, and Allison felt tears prick at her eyes as she watched him watch his daughter. Amy stood, basking in his pride.

"Thank you, Dad."

"The guy with all the lists says to tell you 'T minus fifteen minutes'." Ben stated, slipping around his father's legs and entering the room. The mouths of all three adults curved upwards at Ben's innocent name for the hotel's resident planner. "You look like an angel." He said, seeing his older sister; now holding a bouquet of blue roses.

"Nuh uh, she's a princess!" Lucy argued, wriggling from her father's grasp. "And Mommy's the queen, and Daddy's the king, and I'm a princess too."

"And what's Ben?" Amy asked, playing along with her little sister.

"Ben's a FROG!" Lucy spluttered and Ben rolled his eyes. In spite of the fact that they were twins – and extremely close, Ben and Lucy had developed surprisingly different personalities – Lucy was feisty and extroverted, with a wild imagination and a short attention span. Ben, on the other hand, was quieter and more thoughtful. His gift on the piano was blossoming, much to Greg's secret delight.

"Ok," Allison said, holding a warning hand up to her youngest children. "What did Daddy and I say about how you to have to behave today?" Lucy ran her toe delicately along the plush carpet, avoiding her mother's eyes, but Ben answered obediently.

"Do exactly as you, or Dad or any other grown-up say. Don't make a mess. Don't make a lot of noise. Be really, really good, all day long." Amy stifled a giggle as she caught her father's eye – as Ben recited the list of rules, Greg was mouthing along, nodding approvingly.

"Lucy?" his deep voice issued, and Lucy turned slowly, guiltily, to face her father. "Do you promise?" Lucy nodded, and then scampered over to her father, jumping into his arms.

"Ok then, family. Are we ready to go?" Lucien, the overly-camp wedding planner asked brightly, popping his head around the door. "Gorgeous Amy, simply gorgeous." He said, casting an 'expert' eye up and down the anxious bride. "And mother of the bride doesn't look too bad either," he remarked approvingly. Allison blushed slightly. She was wearing a knee length, sky blue dress, with loose sleeves that fell at her elbows. She was still only 32 years old, – the fact that she was 'mother of the bride' had, at first, confused everyone who had anything to do with the wedding.

"Ahem." Lucy cleared her throat, obviously fishing for compliments. Lucien obliged,

"And you two look perfectly adorable." he pandered. Looking at the clipboard he held in his hand, and then at the watch he had secreted inside his jacket pocket, he grinned, displaying his bleached smile. "Ok then…let's get this show on the road."

* * *

"Daddy, I'm sleepy." Lucy whined, resting her head heavily in the hollow of Greg's shoulder.

"I know, baby." He answered quietly, smoothing down the rumpled fabric of his daughter's dress. Beside him, Allison was trying to rouse Ben, who had curled up on a chair a few hours ago, and was now sleeping soundly. Allison slipped her arms underneath him and lifted him up against her, shushing him when he complained. Greg smiled as Lucy murmured against his neck, "I'm the best princess in the world."

"You ready to go?" he asked his wife as she cast an eye around the room. Most of the wedding guests had begun to filter away several hours ago, when Tom and Amy had set off for their honeymoon – two weeks in Bali. Now the only people remaining in the Reception room were the hotel staff responsible for cleaning up, and Tom's great-uncle Charles, who had fallen asleep during the speeches and snored solidly through Tom and Amy's first dance.

Allison nodded, trying to shift Ben into a more comfortable position. They had rooms in the hotel for the night, as did most of the guests who had flown in for the wedding. Between Amy's guests, and Tom's large extended family the hotel was almost completely booked up. Greg took Allison's hand, smiling at the sight of his son's hand curled in her hair. He led her out of the reception room.

"She looked beautiful, didn't she?" Allison commented; her voice barely more than a whisper so as not to wake their children. Greg pressed the 'call' button on the elevator before answering.

"She looked perfect."


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm hungry." Lucy announced, dancing around the conference table.

"Me too." Ben said, barely looking up from the floor, where he was drawing intently on a spare piece of paper.

"And me." That came from Levi, Foreman's son, who was sat comfortably in House's office chair, a book upside down in his hands. The elementary school all three children attended, the twins in second grade and Levi in the kindergarten class, had closed due to the extreme December weather. After three weeks of minus temperatures and two feet of snow, the pipes of the heating system had finally relented, and frozen solid. Consequently, the Diagnostics Department had been converted into a daycare centre for the past three days. Thankfully there was no real case, just plenty of sniffles and coughs in the clinic, which was where Chase and Foreman were now, leaving House and Cameron in charge of not only their twins, but Foreman's three children – Levi, Isobel and the newest arrival, three month old Max. Chase's nine month old daughter Megan was napping in House's office.

"It's nearly lunchtime." Cameron told them, shifting two-year-old daughter Isobel onto her hip so that she could check her watch. House, who was holding Max, glanced at the rabble of children. As soon as Cameron had uttered "lunch", they had all stopped their activities and were waiting expectantly.

"I guess we could go now." House asserted, with a small look at his wife.

"Food?" Isobel questioned, twirling a tendril of Cameron's hair around her fingers. Cameron nodded, scouting around the conference room for her purse. The room looked as if a bomb had hit it; toys were scattered around the floor, an activity mat was spread underneath the conference table – Megan liked to lay on the mat and look up at all the grown-ups above her. A diaper bag lay in the corner, it's contents strewn across the floor courtesy of Isobel.

"Anybody seen my purse?" Cameron asked, unable to spot the small black bag amongst the destruction. As if on cue, Cameron's ringtone issued loudly. Everyone looked around the room, trying to find where the phone was. A cry from Megan next door provided the clue. Cameron set Isobel down on the floor and hurried into the office, picking up the crying baby, and answering her cellphone at the same time. A glimmer of recognition flew over her face, to be replaced almost instantly with a look that combined confusion, shock and worry. In the conference room, House tried to coax the rabble of children into getting their shoes on, and restoring some semblance of order into his once perfect conference room. Lucy took charge, at seven years old her domineering side could be a negative, but at the current moment, watching her chivvying the rest of the children along, he was grateful.

"I have to go." Cameron whispered into his ear, settling Megan into his other arm. At the same time, Lucy announced proudly that they were all ready to go. Of course, Levi's shoelaces were undone, and Isobel had just managed to get into the diaper bag again – covering herself in baby powder, but essentially they were all in a semi-ready state. House looked at his wife desperately.

"I'm sorry." She half-pleaded,

"How exactly am I supposed to cope with six children?" he asked, as Max began to cry in his arms.

"Page Chase and Foreman." She suggested, kissing him on the cheek and rubbing a finger along Max's chubby little hand. The baby stopped crying instantly, and she turned to kiss goodbye to her own children.

"Be good for Daddy." She told them, and the twins nodded obediently. Of course, once they got into the cafeteria she knew they would wreak havoc but she had other things to worry about.

"I'll see you later." She kissed House on the cheek again, and then hurried out of the conference room. House looked warily at the expectant children, then yelled,

"I need a nurse in here!"

* * *

Allison let herself into the house, setting her purse down on the hall table and hanging her jacket up the coat rack. A noise directed her into the living, and the sight she saw tugged at her heart. Sitting in the armchair, her knees bent up to her chest and with her arms wrapped tightly around them was Amy, her face marked with tears.

* * *

"She doesn't want to talk about it." Allison said sternly, as soon as Amy left the kitchen, heading for the shower. Greg, stood next to her chopping vegetables, looked at her blankly. At the dining table, Ben and Lucy were bent over the homework books – at Allison's insistence they weren't allowed to give up on school work until the Christmas vacation officially began.

"I mean it, she doesn't want to talk. Don't even ask her." Allison repeated, scooping up the vegetables and dropping them into the pan.

"So what? We just ignore the fact that she shows up here, practically hysterical, _without her husband_, two weeks before the semester finishes?" Greg persisted, his voice a stage whisper.

"Yes." Allison answered, "That's exactly what we do."

"Is Amy sad?" Lucy asked, from her seat at the dining table.

"Duh, she was crying." Ben answered, and Lucy swiped at him.

"Hey, no hitting." Greg scolded.

"You didn't answer my question." Lucy stated.

"Yes, sweetie, I think Amy is sad. But you can't ask her, ok? If she doesn't want to talk about it then she doesn't have to." She shot a warning glance at Greg, at the same time as she dished up the twins' dinner. Greg shot a look back, but let the issue go. Overhead, the water pipes gurgled as Amy turned on the shower.

He had been as surprised as the twins when they got home to find Amy curled up in the armchair, her fingers clutching an empty mug. Allison seemed to know as little as any of the rest of them did, as to Amy's sudden return home. When they had spoken to her two days before she had been planning to finish the semester, visit Tom's parents and then travel to New Jersey in time for Christmas Eve. The previous year, Amy and Tom's first Christmas as man and wife, they had spent Christmas alone, and had journeyed to Allison and Greg's for New Year.

* * *

Amy stared at herself in the mirror; her reflection clouded by the steam from the shower. Her eyes were red and her face blotchy from crying so much, her hair needed brushing and she was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing for the past two days; in her hurry to get to New Jersey she had managed to forget to pack everything she would need, but include a comb that was missing half its teeth, a miss-matched pair of shoes, various items of clothing that were completely inappropriate in a New Jersey winter, and half of her textbooks from her first year at Hopkins. As a sophomore, most of her textbooks weren't useful – she didn't even know why she had kept them, and for some unknown reason they had worked their way into her overnight bag.

She wiped an arm over the mirror, and turned sideways slightly, closely examining her reflection. Thoughts buzzed through her mind; she had somehow believed that coming back to her parents' home would make everything seem clearer. But if anything it seemed worse.

The phone ringing broke through her thoughts. She shut off the shower; she hadn't planned on showering anyway, she just wanted to get away from the rest of the family and their unspoken questions. Opening the door she heard her father's voice downstairs.

"Yeah, she's here…This afternoon…She's in the shower." Amy sat down on the top stair, leaning into the banister like she used to when she was a child, eavesdropping on her mother's conversations. "I don't know…" her father was saying, replying to whatever it was Tom was saying. She knew it was Tom from the way her father's voice was low and quiet. Her mom was stood at the doorway to the kitchen, listening intently. "She won't tell us…no, I understand…of course…yeah, just a second." Greg held the phone out to his wife, and Allison looked slightly confused. She held the phone to her ear and Amy slipped down a few stairs to see better.

"Hi Tom." Allison said, and there was a long pause as Tom undoubtedly updated his mother-in-law about the situation. "Right, well of course…No I think that's the best thing right now." Amy unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself. "Ok then…yeah. Give us a call when-" Allison murmured into the phone. "Right, talk to you later. Bye." She disconnected the call, and looked at Greg. Tom had been less enlightening than Amy, refusing to say what, if anything, they had fought about.

"Are you coming down or staying there all night?" Greg said, moving to the foot of the stairs and eyeing his grown-up, _married_ daughter, who at that moment looked more like the scared 12 year old he had met over a decade ago that the beautiful young woman he knew. Amy tiptoed gently down the stairs, standing helplessly in front of her father. And then without warning she had wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. Greg folded his arms around her wordlessly, holding her tightly. He didn't know what to say to make her feel better, so they just stood there silently, the only sound being Amy's sobs which gradually quietened into a small whimper.

* * *

The three adults sat in the living room, their dinner plates discarded on the coffee table. Amy was in her usual place, the armchair, while Greg and Allison were on the couch. Ben and Lucy were in bed, and had been for a few hours. The CD they had all been listening to had long since finished, but no-one had moved to change the CD or turn off the stereo.

"What happened?" Greg broke the silence, unable to hold himself in anymore. His voice sounded louder than it really was in the quiet room, and Amy dragged her eyes to meet his.

"Do I have to talk about it?" she asked quietly and Greg could barely keep his cool.

"Well I think the simple answer is Yes, Amy. 'Cos your husband is on his way here as we speak, and I think you owe your mother and me and explanation as to why you suddenly decided to run out on him!"

"Greg!" Allison scolded, slapping her husband on the arm. She was desperate to know what had happened between Tom and Amy, but experience had told her that her daughter would only speak when she was ready.

"Did you have a fight?" Greg persisted. Amy stared at him blankly, as if she was trying to formulate an answer. "What happened Amy? Did he cheat on you?"

"NO!" Amy cried, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Then what happened?" Allison asked gently. There was a long pause before Amy answered.

"I screwed up."


	7. Chapter 7

"You cheated on _him_?" Greg ventured. After Amy had spoken she had dissolved into fresh floods of tears. Allison, being Allison, had enveloped her daughter into a hug, holding her until she was still and choking for breath. He didn't want to ask, but he had to, even if it meant more tears. Tom's plane was landing at 11:03, and it was already 10:27. His son-in-law would be on the doorstep by midnight, and Amy needed to be calm for that.

"_No._" Amy whispered, stressing the two-letter word with such an urgency that he was shocked. He wasn't sure that she would have any energy left after all the grief, but apparently he was wrong. It was Allison who spoke next.

"So how did you screw up?" They braced themselves for a new onslaught of tears, and were surprised when Amy drew a deep breath and unfolded her knees, setting her feet heavily on the floor. Seeing her with her hands tucked underneath her thighs Greg was reminded of the day, more than twelve years ago, when she had accidentally set fire to his couch. She had made a birthday cake for him; lit the candles and everything. But as she paraded it into the living room, she tripped over his cane and the cake went flying; the lighted candles sparking a bonfire in the middle of the couch. She had sat in this exact position, unsure of whether she was going to get in trouble. She began to speak;

"You know how a few months ago I caught a cold that wouldn't go away?" Amy didn't stop for an answer. She frowned and continued, "Well, Tom convinced me I should see a doctor, and I was prescribed some anti-biotics. They were pretty standard, but what we didn't realise, what _I_ didn't realise, was that the antibiotics effectively cancelled out the active ingredient in my birth control pills." Allison gave a small sigh of recognition, and Greg felt his stomach knot even tighter than it had been before. Amy's eyes flickered up towards her parents, avoiding their eyes but gauging their reactions at the same time.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

"How far along are you?" Allison asked the most harmless question she could think of. Amy sighed.

"I'm not really sure…" a small blush crept across Amy's cheeks. "Around seven weeks, maybe. I haven't exactly gotten around to…anything."

"Ok," Greg set a tray down on the coffee table; it held two mugs of coffee and one of herbal tea – apparently, even given the early stage of Amy's pregnancy her system couldn't handle caffeine. "So I'm guessing Tom knows you're pregnant." He handed out the mugs and sat on the couch, lacing his fingers with Allison's. Her fingers were cold and shaking so he squeezed her hand, grazing his thumb over her fingers reassuringly.

"Yes." Amy said, sipping her tea. Almost instantly she seemed to relax; she hadn't eaten or drunk anything since getting to Greg and Allison's house at just gone ten that morning and she hadn't realised how desperately thirsty she was.

"What did he say?" Allison asked, her fingers tensing underneath Greg's touch. They were both dreading the answer; assuming that the reason why Amy was so terribly upset about the pregnancy was because Tom didn't want it – maybe he had suggested a termination. Neither was expecting what came next;

"He was so happy." Amy gasped, her voice laden with unspoken tears. "He was _so, unbelievably_ happy. He wanted to call you guys, and his parents and really, I think he was on the verge of shouting it from the rooftop but then he realised that I wasn't jumping around the room with him and…Oh God. It wasn't even a real fight, I just sat there. And his face – his face when I suggested…I've never seen him so hurt, he didn't know what to do. He left, and then I left." Amy took another sip of tea, trying to steady her hands. "I'm barely twenty-five, I have another two years at Hopkins, three years worth of residency…half the time I feel like I'm playing at being a wife, I don't know if I could handle being a mother too."

"Amy," Greg almost moaned, leaning forward and resting his chin in his hand.

"Please don't be disappointed." Amy whimpered, misinterpreting the look her father gave her.

"I'm not!" he hastened. "God, I am anything but disappointed in you." Beside him Allison shifted, trying to work out what he was talking about. Greg sighed and looked his daughter square in the eye "How can you not believe that you can do this? You are the most incredible person I know. You're kind, and caring, unbelievably smart, beautiful, successful. You're the best daughter I could ever have wished for, and you are going to be the best mother any child could ever want." Tears fell down Amy and Allison's cheeks but Greg was dry-eyed.

"I mean it Amy. And if I'm disappointed in anyone, it's me, for not making sure you knew that." And then they were both on their feet, Amy wrapped tightly in his arms. She wasn't crying, at least not obviously. He kissed the top of her head fiercely, and reached down to pull Allison into the embrace. Allison brushed away stray tendrils of hair from Amy's face and without saying anything, managed to say everything.

* * *

The sound of the cab door shutting jolted Amy awake. She had been lying half-asleep on the couch, alone in the room now. Greg and Allison had gone to bed at around a quarter to midnight, at Amy's insistence. She wanted to talk to Tom alone, she said, and both Allison and Greg had agreed to leave them to it. Swinging her legs down onto the floor she stretched, before making her way to the door. She stood for a few seconds on her side of the door, knowing Tom was on the other side. He always laughed when she claimed that they were soul mates, intrinsically linked, yet now she could have sworn that she could feel his heart beating. She breathed out heavily, seizing the door handle and opening it. Tom was stood on the doorstep, a suitcase at his feet and a light dusting of snow on his shoulders. Amy took a half-step backwards and to the side, allowing him to enter the house. She shut the front door behind him, locking it as he set the suitcase at the foot of the stairs, shrugged off his jacket and hung it silently on the coat-rack. They faced each other, neither one saying anything.

Sitting close together on the top stair, Greg and Allison had an obscured view of the scene. Allison was clutching Greg's hand tightly – they hadn't really been sleeping but when the sound of the cab issued she had dragged him out of bed. He didn't want to eavesdrop but at the same time he did. He nudged her slightly, trying to get a better view. Not that there was anything to see, Tom and Amy were still just standing there staring at each other, perhaps waiting for the other one to speak first or perhaps just trying to think of something to say.

"Amy…" Tom finally began, a full five minutes after entering the house. Amy didn't let him finish, flying at him and wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. He was stunned for a moment, and then responded; reaching up and cradling the back of her head with one hand – her hair twining in his fingers, and pulling her towards him with the other.

Greg stood as quietly as he could, pulling Allison up with him. Avoiding the creaky floorboards they crept along the hall towards their own bedroom. He shut the door behind them and stood with his back up against it, a smile toying on his lips. Allison eased into bed, shivering in the cold sheets.

"What?" she asked, noticing that he wasn't making any move to join her.

"We're gonna be grandparents." He laughed.

* * *

Amy blinked awake, adjusting to the light coming through the curtains. She looked around her, recognising that she was in her old bedroom, rather than the fold-out bed of the studio apartment she and Tom shared. Shifting onto her side she realised that Tom was lying next to her, awake but with an empty space in the middle of the bed between them. They hadn't spoken at all the night before; when they had finally broken apart, gasping for air, she had led him wordlessly up the stairs into her old bedroom. Now, she became conscious of the fact that she wasn't wearing anything – they were just covered by a sheet. They had somehow managed to displace the thick winter duvet; it lay on the floor with their clothes.

She looked at her husband and realised that he was on her side of the bed. He slept on the right side of the bed – in their apartment that side was nearest the window, while she preferred the left, nearer the door.

"I'm on your side." Tom stated, and in any other situation Amy would have laughed, at how they were able to think the same thing without meaning to. As it was, she wasn't sure whether he was talking literally; about the bed, or figuratively – telling her that no matter what she decided to do about the baby, he was ok with it. Amy shuffled a little bit nearer to him, not all the way over to his side, but closer all the same. In turn, Tom edged nearer. They weren't touching, but Amy could feel the warmth of his body radiating.

"I…" she began, but didn't continue. Tom reached out and rested a hand on Amy's hip. She inched closer and lay on her back, her side pressed up against his.

"Amy?" Tom asked and she looked into his eyes. His arm was resting over her body, underneath the sheet and she took his hand, placing it lower on her abdomen. "Amy?" he asked again, as she laced her fingers with his, on top of the spot that soon would be blossoming with their child.

"We can do this." Her eyes shone, and he answered her with a kiss.

* * *

The Diagnostics Department was one step away from becoming a day-care centre. Just as it had been the day before, the room was overflowing with children. Foreman and Chase had been given permission to skip clinic hours and work on charting in between feeding and playing. If anything, it was because House had enlisted the help of three nurses to help with the unruly rabble; nurses who were needed to help deal with the onslaught of coughs, sniffles and runny noses that were frequenting the clinic.

"Oh my word." Amy said, her hand to her mouth as she surveyed the room. Ben and Lucy were scribbling on the whiteboard, Levi was underneath the desk, bashing toy cars together. Chase was juggling his daughter and Foreman's youngest son, both of whom were screaming, while Foreman himself was at the sink, trying to scrub marker pen off his daughter's face. House and Cameron were nowhere to be seen.

"Need a hand?" Amy asked, as the twins ran towards Tom, almost knocking him off his feet. Chase looked more than thankful as Amy took Foreman's son, holding him against her chest. The baby quietened almost instantly, gulping down air and Megan, now that she wasn't sharing her daddy followed suit, allowing Chase to settle her on his hip so he could give Amy a one-handed hug. Tom meanwhile suggested that Foreman use wet-wipes on Isobel's decorated face. When Cameron and House entered the conference room five minutes later, carrying lunch for everyone, it was a far cry from the chaos they had left behind. Max and Megan were both asleep in the office, their baby-carriers side by side. Isobel, now with a spotlessly clean face, and Lucy were making paper chains with Amy, while Tom was playing cars with Ben and Levi. Chase and Foreman, both looking absolutely exhausted, were in the office with the babies, nursing mugs of coffee and their sore heads. Chase's wife Carrie was in Florida, for a conference, and Libby, Foreman's wife, was suffering from a terrible cold and resting in bed.

"Hi." Cameron said, slightly surprised to see both her daughter and her son-in-law babysitting in the conference room. She had planned to take the day off with Ben and Lucy, but given the sounds of make-up sex that issued from Amy's room when she woke around 6am, she had decided it wouldn't hurt to take the kids to the hospital for one more day.

"Hey." Amy answered brightly.

"I'm hungry." Levi mumbled, dropping his toy car and plodding over towards House, who held a laden tray of food in his hands.

"Easy, buddy." Foreman smirked, coming into the conference room. House set the food onto the table, drawing Amy aside as Cameron began separating plates for each child.

"You ok?" Like Cameron, he had found it hard to ignore the noises coming from Amy's room, but he assumed from the way neither Amy nor Tom could stop smiling that they were fine. Amy blushed slightly and nodded.

"We're fine. And I'm _starving_." She said, moving behind Lucy who was seated at the table, swiping some fries off her little sister's plate.

"HEY!" Lucy yelped indignantly and Amy laughed.

"Did you change your hair?" Chase asked her, preparing Megan's lunch for when she woke up from her nap. Amy shook her head, looking puzzled. She sat down on Tom's lap, his arms wrapped protectively around her middle.

"Yeah, there's something different. What's going on with you?" Foreman asked. Amy tried to hide her laugh, as Tom murmured;

"She's glowing." He didn't say it quietly enough, because both Foreman and Chase's jaws suddenly dropped as they realised what he meant.

"You're pregnant?!" Chase asked, leaning on the back of a chair. Amy felt Tom's arms wrap tighter around her and she nodded. The room was filled with excitement and congratulations; not just from Chase and Foreman but also from House and Cameron, and Lucy and Ben. The rest of the children were too young to understand what was really going on, but they laughed at all the grown-ups.

* * *

The Maternity waiting room could definitely do with some new furniture; he made a note in his mind to inform Lisa Cuddy of that fact in the morning. Actually, glancing at his watch he realised that it was morning, by four hours.

"Happy birthday." Allison whispered, noticing him checking the time. Across from them, sitting on a sofa that was equally uncomfortable to the chair that Allison and Greg were sitting in; her on his lap, were Tom's parents. Peter was half-engrossed in a crossword, while Maggie was knitting nervously. They raised their heads to wish him a 'happy birthday' too, smiling at the sight of Ben and Lucy curled around each other on a couch.

"I think we'll go stretch our legs." Peter suggested, setting his newspaper down on the couch. Maggie nodded;

"You'll come find us if there's any news?" Tom had called them as soon as he and Amy had gotten to the hospital. Forty-one hours later and they were worried first that the baby was a few weeks early, and second that he or she was taking so long to arrive. Greg and Allison had told them that nothing was wrong, but they themselves had both been anxious. Especially when Amy hit the twenty-seven hour mark; making her labour longer than Allison's with the twins, but they had been reassured after one look at her chart – the baby was just taking his or her time. Peter and Maggie wandered out of the waiting room, rolling the kinks from their shoulders. Greg closed his eyes wearily…

"Greg? Allison?" Both doctors jumped awake at the sound of Tom's voice. They sat upright, adjusting to the early morning sunlight streaming through the window. Tom was stood in the doorway, exhausted but brimming with excitement and happiness. A note on the table told them that Peter and Maggie had taken the twins to get breakfast in the cafeteria. Tom beamed at them.

"Amy wants to see you." They got to their feet quickly, ignoring the stiffness that two nights in the uncomfortable chairs had bred. Following Tom to Amy's room, Allison reached for Greg's hand. Tom opened the door and ushered them inside.

Amy was sat on the bed, knees bent up and covered by a thick blanket. She looked ten times more exhausted than Tom, but the smile on her face brought tears to Allison's eyes. Propped in Amy's lap, swaddled in a huge blanket, was a tiny baby. Tom rounded the bed and perched next to his wife, grazing a thumb lightly along the baby's cheek. Amy tore her eyes away from the bundle and looked at her parents, scooping the baby up and displaying her prize to them.

"Mom, Dad, meet Emily."

* * *

So that's the last chapter. And the end of the trilogy...which I'm quite sad about if I'm honest. Thank you to all those of you who reviewed; PLEASE review the final chapter - even if you didn't like it. I'm thinking about writing some new stuff so keep any eye on my profile if you like the story. Sarah x


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